Letter from Mervyn Adder to his brother Alex

Letter from Mervyn Adder to his brother Alex

Letter and explanatory note. Writes of plan to go to cinema later that evening and then go night flying. Mentions exploring the local glorious countryside including visit to Coniston. Describes a football match he took part in and low level flying in Northern Ireland.

1943-05-27

Four page handwritten letter and printed explanatory note

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SAdderM175073v10064, SAdderM175073v10062

[Royal Air Force crest]

1457970 L.AC. Adder M
Hut 124
R.A.F. Station
Millom
Cumberland

Thursday.

Dear Alex,

Well how’s tricks! I thought I would write tonight as I haven’t much to do until eight o’clock, it’s now just after six, when I am going along to the picture show in the NAAFI. It’s a good film I believe, ‘The Glass Key’ with Alan Ladd & Veronica Lake, however I don’t think I shall be able to see it right through as we are night flying tonight, [deleted] and [/deleted] briefing is at 22.15 hrs. and you have to get there before this to work out your Flight Plan.

I haven’t heard from home very much since I came back, but this is partly my fault as I haven’t written myself, other than the usual letter in a parcel and I had the last one already packed for three days before I got the

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chance to post it.

We still have plenty of free time and days off between trips, and about a fortnight ago I spent a very nice day with a couple of the boys exploring the countryside. We completed a walk over the hills into the next valley at Coniston, where we had tea before catching a train back to Millom, - and what a glorious place it is! It’s on the edge of Lake Coniston and the scenery is I think the best I have yet seen in this country, and would very much like to spend a holiday there. If we get another chance we are going to spend a day there.

It has been our day off today, we stopped in bed as usual this morning until somebody at about a quarter to eleven [inserted] [deleted] when somebody [/inserted] [/deleted] suggested a game of football, and this had the effect of getting fifteen of us out of bed. It was a grand day so we put on gym kit, drew a soft ball from the stores and had

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a grand game of Soccer until dinner time. The North played the South and we won 8 – 1 although had to borrow two of their chaps to make the sides even.

For some unknown reason we had dinner out of doors today, it was a change but not very nice as we had to dig out our mess tins from the bottom of our kit bags, and there was the usual battle to keep insects etc out of your dinner.

The flying is going down quite well and I have now about sixty eight hours to my credit. We had a very enjoyable trip a few days ago, it was another low level map reading trip and this time [deleted] we went [/deleted] over Northern Ireland. It was very ‘low level’

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lifting up to go over trees etc and we met a few chaps mending the road in one part whereupon we made the usual sortie and a few seconds after we had pushed over them we had a smell of tar in the plane for a very short time.

I should be home a fortnight on Monday as we are passing out then, so that if you can wangle some more time off about that time, (I don’t think we shall get more than seven days leave,) I’ll see you then. I think Mary is having her holidays the same week and I am looking forward to seeing her again very much indeed.

I don’t think I have anything else to tell you at the moment so I’ll say cheerio for now.

Mervyn

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c. 27 May 1943

Here Mervyn describes a trip to Lake Coniston 17 May with friends on a day off. He had really enjoyed the beauty and expressed a wish to have a proper holiday there. I’m pleased to see in his diary that they managed another trip there on 28 May.

He always goes into detail about football matches – an indication of how much he enjoyed it.

There is also a very interesting description of a low-level flying trip to Northern Ireland when they were flying so low that they smelt the tar that was being laid on the road.

He also refers to his forthcoming passing out parade which took place on 14 June 1943 and the usual film (see attached.)